Patriots heavily favored in divisional playoff matchup

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The Texans lost 42-14 at New England on Dec. 10. No wonder they’re 9½-point underdogs Sunday against the Patriots.

“There’s no excuses for what took place,” coach Gary Kubiak said Monday. “You have to give them all the credit. We battled the past few weeks to get back to where we are and have a chance to go there again.”

Kubiak plays it close to his vest

During the regular season, coach Gary Kubiak had no problem talking about his injury situation at his regular Monday news conference, even though NFL rules don’t require disclosure before Wednesday.

When Kubiak was asked Monday about tight end Garrett Graham, who was drilled in the helmet on the last series of Saturday’s victory over Cincinnati, he said: “We’re going to talk about injuries on Wednesday. We’ll update you guys. That’ll be the first time we’ll talk about that.”

Asked why he talks about injuries Wednesdays rather than Mondays, Kubiak said: “I’ve got a new philosophy. We’ll talk about it on Wednesday.”

Manning pegged to return kicks

Safety Danieal Manning was one of the NFL’s premier kickoff returners when he played for Chicago.

He returned well for the Texans early last season, but they took away that duty so he could focus on safety.

The coaches used him on kickoff returns against Cincinnati.

He averaged only 23 yards per return.

“He showed a little rust from not doing it, but he gives us a chance to make a really big play,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “He’ll come back this week, and I think he’ll be better just after getting back there and doing it again.”